But for those around the Alabama football program, Saban’s mantra — which he affectionately refers to as “The Process” — might as well be gospel for how much Crimson Tide coaches and players swear by its effectiveness in creating a framework for winning.

Saban’s “Process” has second-ranked Alabama on the verge of achieving a level of success that would be unmatched in modern-day college football, if it can knock off No. 1 Clemson in Monday night’s championship game in Glendale.

A victory would be the Tide’s fourth national title in the last seven years under Saban, a feat that would solidify Saban’s run at Alabama as one of the country’s all-time dynasties.

“Yeah, it speaks Coach Saban and his process. You can’t compete all the time like this without a system, without a process, whatever that is,” second-year Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said Wednesday. “Here we’re in the middle of a dynasty because of ‘The Process’ with different players and different coaches. He’s had a number of coaching changes. It all goes back to Coach Saban and his philosophy and the players buy into it.”

And while there have been other supremely successful Alabama teams under Saban, few have seemingly embodied everything Saban represents — especially “The Process” — more than this year’s Crimson Tide.

Whether it’s the unselfish, team-first attitude of nearly every veteran leader such as senior center Ryan Kelly, Heisman-winning running back Derrick Henry or physically imposing junior defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, or the way senior linebacker Reggie Ragland, senior quarterback Jake Coker and Henry have emerged this season after each had to mature within the system until they was ready for their opportunity to shine.

“I've not been here for all those years before and all those stories I've been hearing,” Kiffin said, “but I can't imagine there was more of a unselfish team of great players — a lot of (future) NFL players — and they're all on one page, on one goal, which obviously speaks to Coach Saban."

For Coker, who has grown into a strong leader and commander of Alabama’s offense this season despite being removed as the starter against Ole Miss (the Tide’s only loss this season), the success was in simply doing what he knew Saban wanted.

“Ever since I got here, I’ve had a good idea of what he wanted and what he needed out of this team, especially from the quarterback position,” Coker said Wednesday. “So really ever since the beginning, I’ve been trying to do my best to just do whatever he says, that’s what I’m going to do and I try to do that as well as I could.”

Saban, much like what he teaches his players, deflects his own influence on the team and credits the players for how they’ve bought into the Alabama way — his way.

“Look, any success that we've had is because of the total program that we have, all the people in the program, the coaches, the players, the way they've all worked to develop the players that we have,” Saban said Saturday. “Recruiting is a big part of that, having good players who are committed to being the best that they can be. So to me, this is not about me, it's about the whole organization and the whole team, and I think it's always been that way.”

Of course, it’s not always so easy to get everyone on the same page, as evidenced by last season’s semifinal collapse against eventual national champ Ohio State.

But through an adherence to what Saban preaches — team-first, dedication to the mission at hand, focusing on what’s important and now allowing distractions to enter the fray — Alabama is back.

“Getting everybody to follow the process and having the discipline to execute that on a day-to-day basis, on a game-to-game basis, all season long and get everybody to buy into those things, that’s the difficult part and that’s what this team has done a really good job of,” Saban said Wednesday. “I think some of the older players have provided a good example and good leadership that has certainly affected that in a positive way and that’s why I really like this team.

“They’re fun to coach. You’re not harping on people to try to get them to do the intangible things that should be a given. You’re just teaching them what you’d like them to do in that particular game because they sort of buy into doing those things and understand that it takes what it takes.”

Even some of Alabama’s coaches have had to buy in to the Saban way.

Kiffin, nearing the end of his second season in Tuscaloosa, said it took a little while to learn just how Saban wants to operate.

“That was a growing process for me. This is more of a ‘This is how we do things, and this is how I want it done,’” Kiffin said Saturday. “It’s just different and so I think it took a little bit of an adjustment for me, and now it’s better because I know how it works.”

Earlier this season, it was clear Kiffin was still trying to spread the ball out like the Tide did a year ago with dual-threat Blake Sims under center.

But with Henry and a dominating offensive line, not to mention an unsettled situation at quarterback, that way of doing things wasn’t going to fly.

It wasn’t long before Alabama’s offense reverted to its more traditional run-first philosophy, letting Henry shoulder the load offensively until Coker and his inexperienced receivers found their comfort zone, which happened slowly but has steadily allowed Kiffin to open things up more and more each week.

“Lane has done a good job with us, and I think the big thing that every coach that comes into our sort of organization sort of grows and develops into is — there's a certain way that we do things, and it really doesn't matter how you've done them before. This is how we do them,” Saban said of Kiffin. “We want your input, and we want your ideas, and you can implement certain things in what you do relative to the personnel that we have — which we all make those decisions as a staff — but we also have sort of a process of how we do things, and everybody has got to buy into that.”

Across the board, the “buy in” of this year’s team has been unmistakable, and why it has prospered in spite of obstacles and potential pitfalls along the way, creating a group dynamic that even has Saban enjoying every moment along the way.

“Everyone just bought in, no one’s going astray, everyone’s just walking that straight line,” receiver Richard Mullaney said Saturday. “And, obviously, everyone is just so tight with each other. Everyone just loves each other and we all just want to win.”